Flashback Friday

Last Saturday morning I did what must be done sometimes in a situation where one lives with 13 people, and one is getting to the very end of a very good emotional book, and one can not seem to find the time to finish said book. I shut myself up in my room for like 2.5 hours(don't judge), and I finished reading the classic book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 

It's a book that is set at the turn of the century and is a story about an Irish family that has it's fair share of problems. The mom Katie is married to a drunk named Johnny and together they have a boy Neely(Cornelius) and a girl Franice. They struggle like all young families at that time to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.  

Francie the girl, is the voice that narrates the story through out the book and she is full of spunk, and socially awkward. Her only saving grace is that she loves to read. When she finally is able to read on her own this is what it says of her, 

"From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood."

Don't you just love that? Books are my friends sometimes, like last Saturday morning.  This book was a very good friend ;) Hey who you calling anti-social and nerdy?  Psh... This family brings you right back to a time when you could get a loaf of bread for a penny, a cup of hot coffee was not only used to warm your bones, but keep you from feeling empty inside, and when you didn't accept charity. You put your best foot forward when you go out in public, and everyone was trying to make the American dream come true.  Huh... I guess not much has changed. As they go to bed each night they read one page from the bible and one page from Shakespeare.  And as Francie grows into a beautiful, smart young lady you feel a certain sense of  responsibility for her and complete  joy with her when she finally finds love. By the end of the story I was bawling my eyes out to the somewhat, bitter sweet, happy ending that you want so desperately for this young girl, Francie Nolan.

One of my favorite parts from the whole book is when Francie who favors her father rather than her mother Katie, looks at her mother in a different light. She says of her mother, "Her hand never fumbles."  I just love that line, because Katie is the one who keeps the whole family functioning. Although at times Francie doesn't understand her mothers harsh ways, she in this one moments realizes that without her mother their lives would be even worse than they could imagine. And she can imagine quite a lot.
My other favorite part is when Francie realizes the preciousness of life itself and she says, "Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry... have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere-be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost."  Isn't that one of the greatest passages ever written? Sigh. See, I told you this book is a good friend. 

Apparently they made it into a movie.   I have never seen the movie so I am on the hunt to rent a copy, and I am wondering if it was as good as the book? Netflix was a no go, and so was Vulu.  But, until then I want to read what you wrote SO NOW...
It's time for what I like to call a little FBF- if you are new here this is a link up for blogs that are a year or older. You find an old post that you want others to read or re-read and link it up. Then you read each others and I hope comment and get to know your fellow FBF'ers.